


Nothing Like the Present

by tinyangl



Category: Bandage (2010)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-14
Updated: 2011-03-14
Packaged: 2018-07-14 11:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7168790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyangl/pseuds/tinyangl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asako wonders if even two years later, their ending will still be the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing Like the Present

**Author's Note:**

  * For [natsudive](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=natsudive).



> This picks up directly from the end of the movie. ~~because omg, need a more defined ending, thnx. XD~~ To natsudive, I really tried to incorporate stuff you wanted, but man, do the characters of BANDAGE resist. XD I hope you enjoy this nonetheless. And a huge thanks to my betas, sinonymity and dalampasigan who held my hand through this. Originally posted [here](http://community.livejournal.com/je_whiteday/39319.html) (or [here](http://kakimakuru.livejournal.com/90234.html)) for je_whiteday 2011! :D

Yukari catches her before she can escape out of the recording booth without anyone knowing she’d been there.

No words are exchanged between them, just a look telling Asako that Yukari understands. Asako wants to say thank you, to say that she's glad Natsu looks _good_ , to say that she missed them, but the words are stuck in her throat so all she can do is stare wide-eyed and still a little teary.

The door handle turns behind her and she's lifting her feet and dashing down the corridor without realizing.

She swears she hears Natsu calling her name, but all she sees behind her is an empty corridor and her own heart stuck in a room it's never really left.

***

He finds her.

He always could find her.

"Hey," Natsu says, pushing himself off the wall. Asako just can't find the words. Her heart feels like it's about to pound out of her chest.

It's Miharu who breaks the silence. She rests her hand on Asako's shoulder and the warmth reminds Asako that she's _not alone_ here. "Hey, we have to get into recording."

Asako breaks her gaze with Natsu, inhaling as she faces Miharu. "Right, right. Recording." She turns back in time to catch the disappointment flash on Natsu's face, but he wipes it away.

"Right," he says, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I'll be in the building for a while, so..." Natsu bites his lower lip after the words trail off.

"Okay," Asako says, not trusting herself to say anything more.

He stares at her and Asako thinks that breathing is really overrated.

"Let's go then?" Miharu asks. Asako nods. Miharu’s hand moves from Asako's shoulder to the small of her back, pushing her gently into their recording room.

"Are you okay?" Miharu asks immediately, leading Asako towards the couch.

She nods again, trying her best to smile away Miharu's concern. "Of course. It's been over two years, after all."

Miharu doesn't look any more convinced than Asako feels, but she thankfully lets it go. Asako finally exhales when Miharu enters the recording booth. She leans back on the couch and closes her eyes, focusing on the sound of Miharu's voice, hoping it’ll push the playlist of Natsu's songs out of her head.

***

She doesn't see him later that day. Makes a point of _not_ going out to search for him—it ended badly two years ago; there was no way it would end well now.

 _But who's to say that it will end?_ is a fleeting thought Asako stamps out. She should know better.

Instead, Asako goes home after a long day of recording and searches for the box hidden in her closet. She finds it and opens up her past; two CDs tucked neatly in bubble wrap, a notebook she'd forgotten about, and the backstage pass that started it all.

That night, she allows herself to sleep listening to Natsu's "lululala"s.

***

Asako can't avoid him forever.

"Asako," Natsu calls out as she's walking out of the recording studio. Asako turns around to see Natsu walking towards her. His eyes are unreadable and she finds she can't breathe again.

"Asako," he says again when he's standing directly in front of her. Even though she's grown a little since they last met, she has to look up to meet his eyes. Her head feels heavy and the world spins around her.

"Natsu," she breathes.

His eyes go wide for a second, like he's taken aback that she still knows him. His arms engulf her, pressing her against his chest and Asako almost feels like breaking.

Instead, she wraps her own arms around him, hands clutching the back of his shirt. "Asako," he says again, except it's not as solid, like any second now, he's scared she'll disappear. In reply, Asako pulls him closer and inhales a scent that's distinctly Natsu.

***

"11:59 and 59 PM" is scribbled on the note Yukari gives her, right above an unrecognizable address. Asako stares at it.

"He'll wait for you," Yukari says. But it's pointless to tell Asako that; she already knows.

"Right," Asako murmurs, still staring at the sheet of paper. Yukari hovers near the edge of her vision, but doesn't leave. "What is it?" Asako finally asks, pulling her attention away from the hook of Natsu's nines.

"This isn't a bad idea, right?"

Asako blinks and is suddenly hit with nostalgic feelings—of uncertainty, of confusion, of fear. She forces herself to breathe properly before answering, "Not if you don't think so."

Yukari's eyes narrow a little, arms moving to cross over her chest, a protective stance that Asako has seen on her all those years ago. "You're not the same." It's not a question, so Asako finds no reason to respond.

Instead, she says, "If you talk to him, tell him to send his own messages." She walks away before Yukari can say anything else; her gaze is heavy against Asako's back.

***

The door is unlocked when she gets there at 12:01 AM. Asako doesn't open the door immediately; her hand is stuck on the doorknob and her ears pick up strains of a guitar inside the apartment. She licks her lips, turning the knob before she forces herself to push forward.

Inside is a room she's seen in her dreams, except _not_ because he doesn't live in that apartment anymore. The one with glass bottles, broken alarm clocks and magazines. CDs and take-out food piled on a table, always so dangerously close to falling off. A sink whose dishes were only cleaned when needed. No, Natsu doesn't live in that room anymore.

Instead, it's _white_. Asako half-wonders if she's imagining this place, too, because she would never associate Natsu with that color. His curtains are white, everything from the kitchen table to the appliances in the kitchen is just white.

It's still just one giant room with a partition for his bed though, the same layout it had been. Maybe, it always will be like this. The thought comforts her.

Natsu's sitting on the couch, strumming the guitar with a hum. He hasn't looked up, hasn't even bothered to acknowledge her presence so Asako quietly shuts the door behind her, taking off her shoes by the door—afraid her heels will make unnecessary noise.

She takes a seat on the adjoining couch, watching as Natsu's fingers skim the strings.

"Any requests?" He lifts his head, eyes meeting hers and Asako wonders if it was a good idea to come here.

She bites on her lower lip, thinking. " _Genki_ ," she says. There's a flash of uncertainty in Natsu's eyes, but he nods before playing the starting chords. The melody is haunting and rests on her skin for the remainder of the night.

***

They fall into some kind of routine, meeting up at 11:59, 59 seconds. If it's at night, it usually ends with one of them asleep in the other's apartment—just sleeping, nothing more. If it's lunch, hours spent together before going back to work that had almost been forgotten.

It doesn't matter to Asako how many times they meet, who's the one that invites the other out, what they actually do.

What does matter is that Natsu doesn't push too hard and Asako doesn't get the urge to run.

***

Asako sees Yukiya in the distance.

Her mind flashes, before she can stop it, to an early morning and two people being lost at the beach. To trying to figure out the feeling of loneliness amidst the blacks and blues of the ocean. To a kiss colder than warm. A kiss that broke more than it healed.

Asako inhales sharply, wiping the memory away. She blinks and right beside Yukiya is Natsu, staring straight at her. It takes a minute, but he smiles at her, waves and then gets pulled into whatever LANDS is doing to prepare for their performance.

The warmth that washes over her is surprising, but not unwelcome.

"Are you ready?" Miharu asks abruptly, and Asako has to blink away her confusion.

"What?"

Miharu looks at her with concern. "We have to get going, right?"

Asako blinks again before nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Let's go." She allows herself one glance towards LANDS and even if she meant to get one last look at Yukiya, her eyes immediately go to Natsu instead. He glances in her direction at that moment and Asako breathes in; the smile that forms on her face matches his.

She walks away without giving Yukiya another thought.

***

The strum of Natsu's guitar comforts her.

Even though she's in the middle of reading through _very important paperwork_ , all Asako wants to do is close her eyes and listen. Natsu's voice comes second, low and soft, before it stops entirely. Every time this happens, Asako reminds herself to breathe normally and looks over to see Natsu scribbling something in his notebook.

His eyebrows are scrunched and the end of his pen is in his mouth, gnawing on it as he stares at the notebook. He shakes his head, putting the pen down to strum again. Asako smiles.

Maybe she stares too long. Or maybe he can feel her eyes on him. Or maybe he just... catches her at the right time, because he looks up at some point. He doesn't say anything but the arch of his eyebrow asks "What?"

"What are we?" she asks, leaning her elbow on the table.

Natsu's eyes widen and his mouth drops open. Maybe to prepare an answer, but no sound comes out. He closes it, seems to swallow before he opens it again. "Whatever you want," he says. His tone is honest, a little shaky and completely frightened—like he's unsure if these words will break them all over again.

But they won't.

Asako finds herself walking towards the couch, placing her hands on the sides of his face and tilting it up towards her. For a minute, she hovers over him; she watches as his eyes blink up at her. Then she closes the distance.

His lips are warm. And Asako is just glad for the fact that it's not a sloppy kiss fueled by anger and alcohol and _pain_. One of Natsu's hands reaches up to cradle her cheek and she half-leans towards his touch.

"I want what we couldn't have," Asako replies when she pulls back, leaning her forehead against his. Natsu's eyes are slow to open, but when he does, all she can see is _happiness_.

She makes sure to stamp the image of Natsu's smile in her memory.


End file.
